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Fort Stewart soldiers begin returning from first tour in Afghanistan

Army Spc. Cory Allen kissed his daughter, Lacey, during a welcome-home ceremony Wednesday at Fort Stewart.

Wava Harmes, center, and her daughter Janette Surrell, left, wave flags for Spc. Curtis Hutton during a welcome home ceremony for soldiers from the Army's 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

Patricia Parra, left, spots her son PFC Fabian Castrillon in formation along with his fiancee Marivel Penalea, right, during a welcome home ceremony for soldiers.

Army PFC Fabian Castrillon hugs his fiancee Marivel Penalea, right, during a welcome home ceremony for 100 soldiers from the Army's 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

Marivel Penalea, right, reacts to seeing her fiancee PFC Fabian Castrillon in formation during a welcome home ceremony for soldiers from the Army's 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

A family member waves a flag as she shoots a photo with her cell phone during a welcome home ceremony for 100 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment returned home.

Shawn Southard, right, hugs her son Pfc. Derek Southard during a welcome home ceremony for soldiers from the Army's 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

FORT STEWART, Ga. — Sgt. James Thorpe’s first tour in Afghanistan was months shorter than his previous deployment to Iraq, yet for the new Army dad it still lasted nearly the lifetime of his baby girl.

“It was slow,” the Atlanta resident said Wednesday as he held his 8-month-old daughter, Alaysia, for the first time since about three weeks after she was born. “My wife sent pictures every day, and I’ve got every picture since I’ve been gone. She’s beautiful, just like me.”

Thorpe was among 100 Fort Stewart soldiers who returned Wednesday from a tour in Afghanistan. About 600 more troops from the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment were scheduled to follow in the coming days.

The battalion’s deployment in February marked the first time Fort Stewart’s 3rd Infantry Division had sent ground troops to Afghanistan during the war there. The division served four tours in Iraq – three of them lasting a year or longer – before the U.S. withdrawal last year.

Staff Sgt. Torrence Gilliam, who served in Iraq three times before his first Afghanistan deployment, said the time didn’t seem to pass much faster despite the shorter tour.

“It was about the same because there was no R&R,” said Gilliam, of Spartanburg, S.C..

More than 200 spouses, parents and children — including quite a few strollers holding newborns — cheered, squealed and cried from the bleachers at Fort Stewart’s main parade grounds as the soldiers arrived by bus and marched out to the field in formation.

Rynn Allen was waiting with Captain America-themed posters and T-shirts made for her husband, Spc. Cory Allen. That included a star-spangled headband and a red-white-and-blue ballet tutu for their 3-month-old daughter, Lacey. The soldier had been able to make a quick trip home for her birth, but had to return to his unit five days later.

Overall about 2,200 Fort Stewart soldiers have deployed to Afghanistan this year, including the 3rd Infantry’s top general and his command staff. About 100 more are scheduled to go soon and will serve in small teams assigned with training and advising Afghan security forces.

With a fourth wartime tour under his belt, Gilliam said he was eager to reunite with his family in South Carolina and feast on some hot wings for dinner. He’s in for a busy fall with a wedding in December followed by a Christmas trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida.

The soldier’s fiance, Samantha Fidilio, said she isn’t counting on this being his unit’s final deployment.

“Not if they’re stationed here,” she said of Fort Stewart. “But I keep hoping.”